This may not get anywhere, but it's being pushed by Frank Field, who has the ability to make things happen in the House of Commons, and so it would be unwise to ignore it: Labour MPs are pushing for a vote on the Afghan war.
MPs have discussed the conflict on plenty of occasions but, according to Field, the debates have always been on the adjournment (ie with no vote).
Field has tabled a Commons early day motion demanding a debate on Afghanistan early in the next session of parliament "based on a motion that is amendable". That means there would be amendments, and votes – and rebellions against the party whip. Kim Howells, the chairman of the intelligence and security committee who recently called for the phased withdrawal of troops from Helmand, is among the 22 MPs who has signed the EDM, which also says the debate should be opened by Gordon Brown.
Field tells me that he tabled the EDM not because he is personally pushing for troop withdrawal but because he thinks MPs should have a vote on such an important issue. He recalls that when troops were sent to Helmand in 2006, the then-defence secretary, John Reid, even speculated about them leaving without a shot being fired.
We stumbled into Afghanistan. There was no decision from the House of Commons to be there. We now have a military strategy devoid of any political direction whatsoever. I'm anxious that we have a debate because the Commons is supposed to be the place where big issues are debated. We should not be afraid of the fact that there are different views. These views should be expressed ... In the second world war Churchill did not say that there should not be debates. He initiated debates in parliament about what our strategy should be. He used that to mobilise public opinion. He did not close the debate down.
Field accepts that Brown has made big speeches about Afghanistan. But he says the prime minister should be delivering these in the Commons, "where we can actually intervene and probe him about what his phrases actually mean".
